


Frozen III (maybe?)

by dramaqueen216



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Brothers be bitches, F/M, Fire, Hans is clueless, I will follow you into the dark, M/M, Olaf has no page time, Original male chracter - Freeform, Random greek, magic boi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 03:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 12,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29744268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dramaqueen216/pseuds/dramaqueen216
Summary: Alrighty. I know many people were very disappointed by the movie Frozen II, because they teased us with Elsa being lesbian, then she wasn’t. I am very sorry, but she’s now been gifted to the asexuals. But the Frozen franchize can still be used for the first LBGT characters in a Disney movie (I’m not counting Beauty and the Beast, that was lame) So I spent a lot of time (My entire quarantine, and some of last year too) working on this. I wrote it down like a book, because that makes it easier for me. (it is so dark at the beginning, I don’t know if it could be a children's movie, and it would be like, four hours long, except you can make the beginning a little shorter, since you don’t need all the thoughts) I didn’t write any music. I also have a character with an accent. For the five years they’re away from it, they still don’t use contractions, and there are some words you may not know. I stole these from greek. One of the islands is in the medeteranian area, near Greece, Italy, and Spain.
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Hans/Original character





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants to randomly suggest somebody to play a specific new character, feel free to suggest.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Anna.   
She was content with her life as it was. Until her father was killed.   
Her brother, her younger brother, came home the king of Arendelle, their home.   
She only grew angrier as the years went on.   
He got married to a mysterious woman with beauty far surpassing her own. They gave birth to a baby girl and named her Elsa soon after. Elsa was born with the power to create and control ice and snow.   
She was told it was against the kingdom’s laws to be married to a handsome pirate she had fallen in love with, so they could only see each other in secret. When she discovered the queen was going to have yet another baby, she could no longer stand to live in the castle with them.   
She disappeared with him in the dead of night, gone.   
They took his ship many miles south, until they found a place where no one could look for her.   
Swalasia.  
It was a terrible place, to be frank, a place where criminals were sent after they had done their time, but couldn’t be trusted with the common people of the Isles. Not much later, she gave birth to a baby boy.  
A very ugly baby boy. His left foot wasn’t quite the right size, and his face was far too mismatched to be handsome like his father’s, but nothing visibly wrong. His eyes stood out from his dark complexion, being bright green.   
The father was disgusted.   
He told her to do away with it, to destroy it, anything so he wouldn’t have to call it his own.   
When she refused, he left, taking everything they had with him. Anna was so distraught, she tried to do away with the hideous baby. She could not bear to kill it herself, so she attempted to set fire to an abandoned shed, leaving the baby, who she never even named, inside.   
Spirits heard the baby’s cries and saved him, giving him the powers of fire at his side, allowing him to survive.   
The mother was surprised to come back to find the baby still laying there, very alive and crying in the ashes. She took this to mean that she shouldn’t try again, and tried her best to raise him despite their lack of any money at all.   
She never told him of her heritage, though.


	2. Time to fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, time for some more child abuse!

Then she came across the Arena.   
A place for fist fights. With a special section specifically for people with powers like that of her son.   
It paid well, and if he died, she wouldn’t have to take care of him anymore. She signed him up for training right away.   
The Arena was to give a new name to all of the participants, or a name in general to this particular boy.   
Each Better could only have up to thirty Fighters. The man who was now in charge of Anna’s baby boy gave them letters of the alphabet. Anna, being the eighteenth person to sign up, was now the mother to R.   
R was actually quite good at fighting. He could aim, and had surprising balance for a four-year-old, who’s left foot was missing the three inner toes, and had a shorter leg. He also was rather talented with his powers. The only thing that was wrong was his morals.   
He actually had them.   
These fights were to the death, and he didn’t really seem very interested in killing anyone. He was far more fascinated by the beautiful view to the castle across the water. Of course, he couldn’t see it very well, but that didn’t matter.   
He was put into his first real fight when he was six. He was to fight a Wind. He won all too easily. You should know, when one of these people was killed, their powers were sent to the person who defeated them. These people had nothing, so death was how they were defeated. Sometimes death wasn’t how someone was defeated, but not in this case. Now R had gained another power to master, and had seen the outside world in a way that he would remember. A hundred people, maybe more, yelling for him, telling him what to do.   
His second fight was nine. This one was against a Water. All he had to do was turn up the heat until they stopped being able to fight back, then finished them. Once again, it was too easy, but he didn’t know that. By now, being champion of three elements, he was starting to turn heads. Unfortunately, the next year, his mother passed away due to her selfishness. They had both gotten sick and the medicine man, who had been teaching R how to care for the other children’s wounds, offered them an antidote. It wasn’t proven to always work, but many of them survived. He could only spare enough for one dose, but if they both took some, they would just be a bit weak for a short while. Anna took the whole dose, giving none to her son. As it turned out, the antidote didn’t work. In fact, it made it worse. She died after three days of vomiting. R got better soon after.   
The Queen, across the water, who had been meaning to take her youngest son to see Swalasia, thought it might be interesting for her twelve-year-old son to see this person who was now doing shows, just to show off what they could do in the streets. Her youngest son, Hans was amazed by all kinds of fighting, so this would be perfect.   
The day they arrived, R was training. He was scarred and bruised, and supported his culture with a blue tattoo on his right arm, a piercing to his right ear, and the eyeliner every native fighter wore. He didn’t look eleven. He looked much closer to fifteen or sixteen. They went to see the training area, and Hans was amazed by the fast punches and kicks this boy was able to do, even with his visibly short leg.   
The fight was a disaster.   
An Earth was told to be the strongest, which was why only they were allowed to fight three on one.   
It started fine, just a basic show of skills, then the real fight began.  
Fire flying everywhere, wind blowing out of control, vines and leaves and rocks hurling through the air.   
Soon, R was knocked off his feet. The people jeered in an odd language.  
As she was going in with the vines to finish him off they heard a shout. A boy, dressed in white, was standing up.   
“Stop! Please! Stop the fight!” Hans yelled through his tears.   
R took this distraction to get up, infuriating his opponent, who had just been robbed of a perfect victory.   
Instead of simply attacking just at what she should have, she sent the vines reaching for the young prince as well.   
R panicked, sending flames to them, but between the vines wrapping themselves around his legs and his horror, he missed, hitting her instead.   
The vines froze, with no master to obey.   
R won.  
She was gone.  
R was launching himself from their grip, scaling the walls around the Arena with the sort of speed only adrenaline could give you.   
He was held away from him, told he was too weak, that the prince would get hurt if R as much as touched him. Of course, R listened, and believed he should never touch anyone. He asked the blacksmith for a pair of leather gloves that would keep his powers contained.   
He never took them off.


	3. Back home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just realizing that these chapters are so short. it doesn't get better, I'm just letting you know.

“Mother, that was terrible! We have children doing that?” Hans demanded, pacing back and forth in his father’s study.  
“I’m so sorry, my dear, I didn’t know it would be quite that… that… vulgar.”  
“It wasn’t just the fight. The whole island. Full of thieves you could find a reason to execute and criminals who got away with most of their crime... Why do we allow children to be raised under them?”  
“I have been considering that. There’s a petition that I received last night.” His father said as he entered.  
“Who is it from, Dear?” the Queen asked.  
“The women and men of Swalasia. They sent it undetected from there. They ask that we take their children from that terrible place. There are only one hundred signatures. Under other circumstances, I would ignore it, but since you returned as eyewitness to the horror, I believe I will answer their pleas. According to the petition, the authorities we placed in charge don’t want them to be allowed out, and have torn up three other petitions they tried to send in.”  
“How are you going to get them out?” She asked.  
“I’ll send our biggest fleet of boats, they’ll load up, and the children can come here and work as apprentices for the shops.”  
“What will be the age limit?” She inquired. He thought for a minute, then decided  
“Twenty. We will take the younger one’s mothers as well. We won’t take the fighters, they have proved to be far too dangerous to be permitted among us.”  
“But Father, one of them saved my life!” Hans protested. He didn’t want to sentence the man from the fights to that life forever.  
“Honey, we will take them too. If they fall under the age, they will be allowed to come too. We’ll have jobs for them to do, and they will be watched closely.” His mother reasoned, laying a gentle hand on each of their shoulders.  
“Hm, that’s settled then. We shall send the fleet tomorrow night. We’re only making one trip, so I’ll give them today to pack and get to the docks.” Relieved, Hans left to knock on his brothers' doors, then retired to his own when he got no answer, as usual.


	4. Get a Job

“Hans, can you please come out here? I have someone here to meet you.” His mother’s voice floated from the throne room.   
He had been hiding out in his room, hoping to get used to the loneliness that came with being ignored. He slouched in, then straightened right away.   
In the center of the room, at his mother’s feet, stood the boy who had saved his life.   
He was huge, and even more scared up close, and still nothing close to handsome, but a remotely familiar face that wasn’t looking straight through him was relieving all the same.   
He was looking at him in a way similar to the way everyone looked at him nowadays.   
With unmistakable awe. For what exactly they were in awe about, he still didn’t know.   
“I would like to present you with a personal attendant. This is… what was your name again, Dear?” She smiled sadly from her throne. She had always been worried that with nine brothers off at school, and three of him ignoring him, her beloved youngest was spending far too much time alone.  
“Um, R, Your Highness.” He said in a voice that seemed much too high for someone that looked like they could pick up a whole carriage with people in it and they had a very heavy unidentifiable accent, and every word sounded like a struggle.   
“R? Is that short for something?”  
“No, Your Majesty.”   
“Well, I suppose we ought to change that. Hmmm… Raulcus. You may still go by R if you wish.” R looked slightly horrified by this new fact.   
“You are to protect him with your life. I’m sorry, but we have nowhere specific for you to stay. You may sleep on a cot at the foot of his bed if you wish, but I would recommend you find another place to stay.” Hans offered one white-gloved hand for a handshake. R took it lightly, as if he was trying to get as little dirt from his leather gloves on him as possible, and trying not to crush his hand.   
“You will still be expected to attend to your lessons, but now he may accompany you. He will obey whatever you say, and if you wish for him to leave you, he is required to. Do you have any questions?”   
“No, Your Majesty.”  
“No, Mother. Thank you very much. Come on, I’ll show you around!” Hans grabbed R’s hand, and half-dragged him off.


	5. "A child." "NO."

The next few years were the best of either of their lives.   
Once, while Hans was supposed to learn to line dance, R, who was standing by the door broke into a full tap-like dance routine.   
They would occasionally try to take food from the kitchen, and almost always got away with it.   
Hans was taught how to climb up a tree, and not fall out of it, which he never fully got the hang of.  
It was better than having all of his brothers with him, but every so often, he would catch R’s eyes on him, which he always tried to hide immediately.  
Then, after two years of fun, R suddenly became much more serious.   
He was arriving at the castle at ten, rather than nine, like he used to. He had to leave at six, and could never stay later.   
Finally, after a month of this, Hans couldn’t take it anymore.  
“What happened to you? You were so happy, and now you’re acting like you’re sixty.” He said. R took a deep breath and replied,  
“I have a child.”  
“What? With who? You’re a child yourself!” Hans exclaimed, more than a little surprised.  
“No, no, it is not like that. She is my half sister. Her name is Aldona. She is only a little over a year old. Her mother passed away. I have been leaving early so I can work at the theater to make a little more money for her. She does not seem quite like other kids. I leave her there while I am here, and come here late so I can drop her off.”   
“Why didn’t you just say so? You could bring her here, I’m sure someone could take care of her in the castle.” R sighed.  
“It is difficult. I want her to be in the best place possible, but I do not want her to be here, living the life of a princess, only to come home to… Me.”   
“Maybe someday, not necessarily now, but someday, you should take her here. Just for a day, like a special treat.”   
“Maybe. When she is older, I want her to remember it all.”  
After that had been explained, Hans didn’t care if R came at ten, or if he couldn’t make it until noon, since he knew he had to walk the whole way.  
Another year passed this way.   
Then Hans insisted he got to see the theater where R worked his nights.


	6. Welcome to the Theater.

It wasn’t much of anything, just a simple theater, it had seating and a stage, and a small area backstage, but nothing else.   
The play wasn’t much either. Good, but not as good as a prince was used to.  
He enjoyed it, being able to see the actors that R had told him about, see the scenery that R had built, hear all the small jokes made so the guests could really be offended, but they all knew what jokes were at whose expense.   
When they were leaving was the magical part.  
He was waiting in the small lobby at the front, when he heard a voice. More beautiful than any other voice he had ever heard.   
It was high, clear, and soft, yet the echo around the hall made it just that much more magical.  
“Love of mine, someday you will die, but I’ll be close behind, I’ll follow you into the dark.  
No blinding light, or tunnels to gates of white, just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hind of a spark.   
If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs,   
if there’s no one there beside you when your soul embarks, then I’ll follow you into the dark.”  
He couldn’t go back there, so he decided to wait until the singer might come out of there. Unfortunately, the next person to come out for the back was R, and then he had no excuse to stay any longer.   
He made excuses to go into the kingdom, hoping maybe they would just so happen to hear that beautiful voice again.   
He had no luck but on one excursion, they came across a man, saying whoever could play his violin, could have it free of charge. It cost only three coins to try, and if you could, you would get them back.   
They watched many well-dressed men attempt, but none of them could get a single sound out if the instrument.   
Surprising everyone in the square, R stepped forward without hesitation. He took out three coins, dropped them in the can, and took the violin with surprising skill.   
It was common knowledge that he was one of the ones who came from Swalasia, and barely anyone from there was any good at music, especially something as delicate as a violin.   
This one was painted and polished and was an emerald color and shine. He held the bow, and tucked the main piece under his chin. The sound that came from it didn’t match with the sound that his motions should have, it sounded as though a whole orchestra was playing there in the center of town. There was no doubt that it was his.   
As they walked away with their new treasure, Hans had to ask.  
“How did you know you could do it?”   
“I figured I would at least try. If it didn’t work, I could just say I tried and laugh about it later.”   
“How do you think that Aldona is going to react?”   
“She will not mind. I have a birthday present to tell her about.” He said faking smugness.  
“Oh really? What did you get your little princess?”  
“She’s got to come to work with me tomorrow. It’s the final rehearsal at the theater, and she’s old enough now that she probably should be watched more closely. As long as that’s okay with you? She’s been wanting to meet you for… well, actually, her entire life.”   
“Of course! I’d love to meet her, she sounds so sweet.”   
“Who sounds sweet, Your Highness?” a young lady with a basket of flowers asked.   
This was almost routine at this point, at fifteen and sixteen.   
Young ladies would come up to Hans, randomly asking their way into conversations, hoping to get his attention for more than a minute.   
It wasn’t hard, he would flirt with a rock if displayed any interest in him.   
R didn’t even get a passing glance, just a part of the carriage, no matter if he liked anyone or not, nobody even bothered to ask. This had been happening for years, but R never really seemed to get used to it.   
“Well, now that would be you.” Hans replied, smiling like the sun and tucking one of her flowers behind her ear, and giving her a gold coin.   
It wasn’t a real smile, but only R knew that. If he was caught off guard, or was only in the company of his family, then he showed his real smile.


	7. Aldona

“Are you the prince?” Aldona asked.   
She was small, even for being four, and looked absolutely nothing like her half brother. She was had lighter skin and was severely underfed, but even so, she was very pretty. Soft brown eyes, and long brown hair, which was almost the opposite of R’s hulking figure, dark skin, green eyes, and black hair, with the front bright red, standing up and waving around like flames.   
“Indeed I am. Who do I have the honor of meeting?” he asked with a dramatic bow.  
“Wow. He’s a charmer.” She muttered audibly to R, who had his hands on each of her shoulders, towering above her.  
Hans laughed, and offered her his hand.  
“May I have a dance with the young lady?”  
“I mean. I don’t see why not.” She took his hands, and they spun in little circles all around the ballroom. 

That night, in R’s little tent-like house, Aldona flopped down on her pile of blankets she had for a bed.  
“I think I’m gonna marry him.” she said.  
“Oh really? How long are you going to wait?” R asked, sewing up the side of one of Aldona’s dresses that had ripped when one of the other kids pushed her.  
“Well, at least until I’m as old as you. Wait, how old are you?”  
“I am fifteen. And he is sixteen. and you are four. Too old for you, Honey.”   
“But not for you.”   
“What?” R dropped his needle, off guard.   
“He’s not too old for you. Why don’t you marry him? Don’t you like him?”  
“Oh, Honey, I do, of course I do, but it… it is not like that.” R argued, starting to falter.  
“Then what is it like? How long are you going to wait before getting married?”  
“I do not know, Honey. I do not know what it is like.”  
“Do you like him?” she asked after a minute.  
“Yes?”   
“Then why won’t you marry him?” R had nothing to say to that. They were silent for a long time before he finally answered.  
“Because I am me, and he is him. And it would not work anyway.”  
“Doesn’t he know?”  
“No, and I am not going to tell him. You need to go to sleep.”  
“Okay. Just promise me one thing.”   
“Then will you drop this and go to sleep?”  
“Yes. Tell him before you die.”  
“Like, just before I die, I need to go find him and tell him?”  
“No. You need to tell him at some point in your life.”  
“Urgh, fine. Now go to sleep.” R gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, then left for his evening job.


	8. Remember the first one?

Three more years went by. R still didn’t say anything, but they did receive an invitation to go to Arendelle for the new queen’s coronation. They accepted right away, and decided to explain their kingdom’s powers to their youngest.   
“Alright son, if you can persuade Queen Elsa to marry you, you can take Arendelle, and then we’ll have a land-port.”  
“What if she refuses?”  
“Then marry her sister, Princess Anna. Once you have a way in, kill her sister, and boom, the princess becomes the queen, and that makes her husband…”  
“The king. I think I can mannage. Except, if I do succeed, this kingdom is mine, right? It’s not just going to the next oldest brother?”  
“Right. We are conquerors, but we do let you keep what you can gather. Good luck, the honor of the Southern Isles rests upon your shoulders.” He gave him a quick hug, a hard pat on the back, and escorted him out of the study.  
“Are you sure you can do it?” R muttered under his breath as they left.  
“I’m the best-looking guy in the kingdom, I think I can mAnnage. Get going, I want you to come too.” He hurried off to start packing.   
“Do you even realize what you’re going to try to do?” R said to himself after Hans had turned the corner and disappeared.

“I think I’ve got this!”  
“Really? But we just docked, how can you be sure? And why are you wet?” R asked, taking his coat and pulling a random piece of seaweed out of his hair.  
“I heard that the Queen was a cold person to speak with, so I went out looking for her sister, who I had heard was down by the dock. I met her and she’s actually quite sweet. I fell off the dock. Thank you, quick help me change, I need to be back at the castle in twenty minutes.”

“He-ey, guess who got himself engaged?” he burst back into his cabin.  
“Seriously? Already? You need to write to your father about this!” R said, dropping what he was doing.  
“Guess who is also temporarily in charge of the kingdom while she goes and looks for her insane sister with fancy ice powers?”  
“Wait, what? Fancy Ice powers?” R asked, adjusting his leather gloves.  
“Yeah, she just like, shot ice out of her hands before running away to the mountains. It was really weird. Her sister chased after her.”  
“Okay, now you really need to write to your father. He needs to know, then they can get things ready in case neither of them survive.”  
“They will. They will.”

“So, that failed.” R said, handing Hans another cold cloth.   
“Yeah, something like that. What am I going to tell Father?” He whined, pressing it against his nose.  
“The truth I suppose.”   
“Great. Now I’m going to be shoveling out the stables for the rest of my life.”   
“Not your whole life. Maybe for about a year though.”


	9. Guess where we're going?

“Hide, and do not come out until I tell you it is safe.” R said, pushing him down near a ridiculously large vase. There was a lot of commotion happening out in the throne room and in the princes’ rooms, but it was hard to tell just what was happening from the gardens.  
“What’s happening?” Hans protested.  
“It sounds like someone is breaking in. I will check it out, since I am just a worthless servant, they will not pay any attention to me, but you, you are a prince. If they plan on taking someone, it’s going to be you. Now get down.”  
Hans stayed crouched behind a vase until the yelling and crashing was over. Even then, he waited a little longer. After what felt like hours, he heard the thud-thud, thud-thud of R’ boots.  
“Oh good, they did not find you.” R said with a sigh of relief.   
“What just happened?”  
“Your brothers are gone, and your parents are missing. The guards are gone too. A mob of men just broke in and took them. Some of them stayed behind, probably to either keep it under their control, or to wait for you to come out of hiding. We have to get you out of here, or else you will be taken too.”  
“Where are we supposed to go? We don’t have any allies around here.”   
“We have no time to think about allies right now. We just have to get to the closest place that won’t kill us. It will be fine, we have been there before...”  
“No. we are not going there. She’s a queen now, she can just execute me.”   
“You do not have a choice. And she will not hurt you, I will be sure of that. Stay here, I am going to get up to your room to get some of your things.”  
And once again, Hans was left behind a vase to wait for R to come back, or be discovered and captured. Luckily it was the former, with two swords, a large pack, and his huge reddish leather coat.  
“The place is filled with these people. Put this on, it will help hide you a little more, and wrap these around you. Makes you look bigger. I hope this works.” R said in a hushed voice, taking out strips of cloth and winding them around his arms and chest, then drawing small lines on his chin to give him stubble, making him look like a heavy-set old sailor.  
“Well. You do not look like you anymore.” R concluded.  
“This isn’t permanent, is it?”   
“No, it will wash off. We use this in the theater a lot. Come on, and don’t talk.”  
They made their way past numerous men, all dressed alike, baggy pants, long coats. Hans was slightly disturbed by this, since that was how R dressed if it was cold. They were all talking in a strange tongue that he felt like he had heard before, but he didn’t know where.  
“Who are you?”  
“Servants!” R replied to the stubby little man who was at the gate.  
“Where did you work?”   
“The Kitchens. This one here was the butcher, I was just the all-around worker.”   
“Where is your loyalty?”  
“To whoever holds the castle!” Ten long heartbeats passed as the man considered his reasoning. Then, deeming it decent, or out of fear of what R might do if he said no, he let them pass across the bridge, and out into the kingdom. They wandered around the kingdom, to throw off any sense of where they were going if they were being followed.   
After what felt like hours of walking around, making no eye contact with anyone, they made for the docks, walking briskly, but not fast enough to be suspicious.  
Just two sailors going to where sailors belong, the sea. They found a small boat, most likely abandoned because it was too small to carry a decent amount of cargo.   
They boarded and searched every inch before finally going to the captain’s cabin to collect themselves.  
“I can’t believe we actually pulled that off. I thought he was going to stop us for sure.” Hans said, slumping down on the floor.   
“Wait, why did you give so much detail on who we were?” He asked after a minute.  
“It is part of the escape plan. All the servants are supposed to be in on it, they will vouch for us. Plus, by saying that, if he was actually one of the servants, he would know to get out of the way. I had to learn all of this when I first got hired, and they have reminded me once a year, since we are in a war right now. It might not be right here, but if they decided to attack us, we were ready. But those were not our normal enemies. I think… I think they were my people.”   
“What? You know them?”  
“Not them, exactly. But they all sounded like the people from my island.”  
“So you understood them? What were they all saying?” Oh, he thought, the accent had lightened quite a bit, and there was still a slight struggle to pronounce some words, but other than that, it had almost faded. The men talked exactly the same way R had talked when he first arrived.  
“I could not understand all of what they meant, but I knew the words. Something about how “popping princes” was going to become a sport. And “the big” was the “coldest” man they had ever met. And they are going to try to take over the entire area, including the neighboring kingdoms.”   
“They’re going to execute my brothers for sport, and either their boss is a really neat guy, or he’s really mean.” Hans translated.   
“Oh, dear. We need to hurry.” R took off to the wheel.


	10. Chapter 10

“Queen Anna, I am quite sorry to interrupt, but there is a man here to see you. He claims it’s urgent.”   
“Okay! I mean, bring him in.” She said, standing up from her weekly game of charades with her sister, her husband, his reindeer, and a talking snowman.  
The doors opened for an unwelcomely familiar face.   
Behind him, there was a really, really tall man who looked like her could crush Kristof in one hand and probably had done something of the sort once or twice from the looks of him.   
“What are you doing here?” Elsa said before she could say anything.  
“I’m not here to make trouble. My kingdom has been taken over, and my brothers are all facing execution. I need help.” he said, surprisingly dropping to his knees at her feet, and throwing the swords that they had out of their reach. Sign of surrender.  
“What do you want me to do?” Anna asked.  
“I need help finding them, and all of the guards were taken. You have done your fair share of adventuring, you know more about it than me.” He admitted.  
“Oh, I think he means the time we had to help Elsa take control of her powers and that other time we went to that enchanted forest and Elsa moved in there.” the snowman said to the man next to him. R’s eyes widened with fear and he took a few steps back, pulling Hans back too.  
“He’s harmless.” The blonde man who stood at Anna’s side said.   
“Sorcery.” Hans whispered. stepping almost beside R.  
“No. Magic. Sorcery is evil, magic is not.” The now-ex queen said.  
“Oh really? Who told you that?” He shot back. R squeezed his shoulder, signaling to be quiet.  
“I learned from experience. Who’s your accessory?”  
“R is my personal guard. He’s to protect me, no matter who it is that is attacking.”   
“Well. can he protect you from this?” Elsa said, surprisingly calm, before sending ice shards flying toward them.   
In a second, R was in front, gloves off, and the frozen spikes fell to the ground after being encased in fire.   
Nothing but water droplets on the carpet.   
Everyone looked at him in awe, including Hans.  
R avoided eye contact with anyone, and busied himself with putting back on his gloves.  
“Now who is responsible for sorcery?” Anna said sarcastically.  
“What-you-can- you just- how? I knew you for eight years and you never told me you could do… whatever you just did? Why?” Hans said, shaken.   
“It does not matter. Whoever took you brothers is going to come here too. Will you let us save you?” R asked.   
Anna was slightly taken aback, but she nodded, nervous of whether the whole kingdom would be set aflame if she didn’t.   
“Good. pack whatever you need. We leave immediately.”  
“Where are we going?”  
“Ottoland. I suspect you have heard of it?”  
“Yes I’ve been there. Why are we choosing there of all places?” Elsa asked.  
“We will learn who is behind this, and defeat them before they become an unstoppable threat.”  
“And how exactly will we get there?” the blonde man asked, crossing his arms across his chest.  
“We have a boat. And water. We will get there.” R said lifting his hand and as if it was commanded, water from a glass on the table darted through the air to him. It danced above his hand.   
“How many do you have?” Anna asked.  
“All of them. All but yours.” He said, the water floating in Elsa’s direction. She froze them, but instead of falling to the floor, they thawed immediately, then dropped an inch, then bounced on the air, caught by wind. The flowers in a vase on the mantelpiece reached forward like huge arms, the leaves scooping up the water like a cup and depositing it at their roots.   
“Who taught you to control them?” Elsa asked her coldness toward them turning into curiosity.  
“Myself. I was forced to take control. For my own survival. I can teach you, on the way. But for now, you must get packing. Bring the reindeer, we need to go over land for a clear shot.”


	11. Getting to know

“So. How do you control them?” Elsa asked. Anna and Kristof were up front, steering, and Elsa, Olaf, Hans, and R were all riding in the sled. Sven was obviously pulling it.  
“You have to be sure of yourself.”  
“What? That’s it”  
“It is not as easy as you might think. You have to know exactly what you desire for the magic to do.”  
“How?” Elsa asked, starting to question if she was really in control of her powers.  
“If I wish to get a certain flower to come to me, I must not let anything else make me question it.”  
“Wow. that sounds really deep and meaningful.” Olaf said. R scooted a little further away from him.  
“How can I use that?”  
“You wanted to throw more ice needles at us, killing us. You are not really sure if you want to do that, it will not work. Sometimes, you only form the end result, and not how to get to it, and it does not go well.”  
“Like when I first lost control after my coronation? I wanted them to get away from me, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.” R nodded.  
“Sometimes, when you do not know what to do, your magic will step in and do it for you. We don’t ever really have control, it is a… what do you call that?” R asked Hans, who was seated next to him.  
“Involuntary occurrence? Impulse?”  
“Yes. Impulse. Please excuse my speaking, all of you. Your words were not my first.”  
“Oh, it’s fine. I kind of like your accent, where are you from?” Anna said from the front.  
“Swalasia. It is very far from here. There is much land in between your kingdom and my island.”  
“Swalaisa, the prison island? That’s real?” Kristof asked.  
“As real as me, Kiriair.”  
“It’s Kristof. Where’d you get Kiriair?”  
“That’s his word for Sir. you get used to the way he talks, he didn’t come here until he was eleven. Never fully got the hang of our language.”  
“I am so sorry. I really should have tried harder. I think I could learn more, I just pick up the bits.”  
“I learned another language through reading a translated book and having the original next to me.” Anna said. R looked at Hans, then at his boots.  
“Um. R can’t really… read.” Hans said, correctly interpreting his silence.  
“You can’t read? Why? Did no one ever teach you?”  
“No. I tried. He sees the words differently than me. I’m sorry to say, I gave up pretty quickly.” Hans said guiltily.  
“They move. It said one thing, then it says another, then the thing changes what it was, and I can never read right. I can’t remember things either. My head does not work right.” He said, hitting his forehead with the heel of his hand.  
“Your head works perfectly fine. It just works a little differently, that’s all. And for what you’re working with, you’re doing really well.” Hans said.  
“Truly?”  
“Yeah. You're really outstanding.” Hans said, giving him a small nudge with his elbow  
Elsa wasn’t sure, but she thought she could see a faint redness on R’s face. She looked to her sister, but Anna didn’t seem to notice anything.  
“I know you guys are having a great time bonding, but we should pitch a tent for tonight. I’ve been driving for more than a day. It's raining, and I don’t really want to be out here in the rain.” R made an odd motion and no rain was hitting them anymore. it rolled off like they were in a bubble  
“Who’s in what tent?” Elsa asked.  
“Ladies, plus R in one, the other guys in the other?” Hans suggested.  
“Why is R going in with them?” Kristof asked defensively.  
“So if anything happens, they have more protection. Don’t want the queen to be stolen in the middle of the night.”  
“Fine. Any funny business, and I’m running you both over with Sven.” He complied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> R actually has Dyslexia. It's hard for him to read, write, and learn a new language. You never see is, but he can't read a map


	12. Family Reunion

R placed his prized violin case inthe tent, then went looking for firewood. He came back and dropped it.  
“You looked in my case?” he asked in a betrayed tone.  
“I had to be sure you had nothing to harm us with.” Elsa replied, shoving the small pictures, beads, and other miscellaneous things back into the case.   
“In that case, I should be allowed to look in your packs.” He said, reaching for them.  
“No! Fine, I’m sorry.” Elsa grabbed back her bag.   
“Do not search me again.” He took two sticks and a ball of yarn out of the case.  
“Are you knitting?” Anna asked after a minute of awkward silence.  
“Yes.” R replied quietly.   
“Cool. What are you knitting?”  
“A sweater.”  
“For you?”  
“No. My half sister.”  
“You have a half sister? Neat.”  
“How did you get that portrait?” Elsa burst, unable to hide her curiosity any longer.   
“This one?” R asked, pulling a small portrait in a delicate frame from the case. There was a picture of a lovely young lady. She had blond hair, not quite as blonde as Elsa’s, a beautiful dress, a crown, and bright green eyes.   
“This is my mother, long before I was born. I do not know where she was from, but she ran away with my Father.”  
“I’ve seen her before… where have I seen her before… The library! That’s where I saw her! In the old family portrait, of Father and his mother and father, and his sister...”  
“The lost princess of Arendelle.” The two sisters finished together, looking at R with new respect.  
“Although, to be honest, you don’t look that much like her. Just the eyes, the eyes are exactly the same. Where was your father from?”  
“His whole family had been pirates. I have a very mixed family.”  
“Well, that would explain why your nose is western, your hair is eastern, your accent is slightly southern, your skin tone is much more southern, and your build is northern.” Elsa explained.   
“Wow. where’d you learn that?” Anna asked.  
“I read about it. I can’t remember where.”  
“Wait, so, if your mother was our father’s sister, that makes you… our cousin. I have a cousin!” Anna exclaimed, clapping her hands.   
“Yes, yes, a cousin who is way older than you.” Elsa said.  
“Eh… I have less years than both of you.”  
“Huh?”  
“Oh! The story! Our aunt left when she found out I was going to be born! Since I’m twenty, that makes you at most, twenty as well.” Anna said.  
“Nineteen. I am nineteen.”   
“Oh. Where have you been all these years?” Elsa said.  
“Fighting. Working. Existing.” R said shortly, still not seeming to forgive her random search of his things. Neither of the sisters were sure why. He didn’t seem to have anything to be ashamed of.  
There was another minute of silence, only broken by the soft click of the knitting needles. Then he set it aside, rolled on his side, and went to sleep. On the ground. Three feet away from his blanket that he had packed. Elsa followed suit. Anna realized she had forgotten to pack one for herself, having figured that she would be able to share, and Elsa’s was far too small for them both. She lay on the ground when R spoke.   
“You can sleep there.” He muttered, pointing at his empty blanket.   
“What?”   
“You can sleep on my blanket. I usually sleep on a surface worse than that.”   
“Thanks. You know, I don’t think you’re a bad guy. Just a little cold sometimes. You need to get out there more.”  
“I can not. I get a little nervous and start speaking badly.” R replied.  
“You could fix that. You’re able to talk to Hans just fine.” Anna said.  
“I don’t think that has anything to do with that.” Elsa cut in.  
“I don’t understand.” R said, his face turning slightly more red.  
“You, you have a massive crush on your boss.”  
“I do not. What would it matter to you if I did?”  
“It doesn’t, but I still want to know. I swear I won’t tell him if you do.”  
“Fine. Yes. Now are you finished, or do you have more?”  
“I have some.” Anna said.   
“What?”   
“Does he know?”  
“No. It does not matter. He is royalty, and I can barely afford water to take a bath.”  
“I have another.”  
“Yes?”   
“What happened to your face? I don’t mean it to be rude, you just have a bunch of scars… where did you get them?” she asked, pointing to four scratches on his right cheek.  
“I used to fight other people for a living. We would train in fist fights, so I got a little scratched up. Each one has a story, and my little sister always loved to hear them, if I thought it was alright for her to hear.”  
“You have more? I just thought it was just those.”   
“No. There are more. Many more.” With that, he rolled over and they all went to sleep.

In the other tent, the other men were trying to have a conversation.  
“So, you married Anna? Lucky you, she’s nice.” Hans said nonchalantly.   
“I’ve known her a lot longer than you had. She has no interest in you anymore.”  
“I don’t have any interest in her.”  
“You don’t? Why don’t you?” Kristof said defensively.  
“I have other interests. And any woman in my kingdom would happily marry me. I don’t have to come to yours.”  
“Oh. Anyone in mind?”   
“No, not really. Honestly, all of them act so brainless around me. Even the ones who I heard were the top of their class. I don’t understand why, I just want to talk to them about something other than myself.”  
“Is that what it’s like in your kingdom?”  
“Yeah, always, “Oh Your majesty, you look wonderful today!”, “Oh Your Majesty, You’re hilarious!”, “ Oh your Majesty, have you chosen a bride yet?” ever since I turned fourteen. It’s exhausting.”   
“It sounds like it. Have you ever had anyone try to get to R?”  
“No. He’s kind of cold to all of them, and they really only see him as a part of the room. I feel kinda bad, he’s probably watched someone who he loved flirt and flounce, and he couldn’t do a thing.”


	13. Getting to know you more

“R? R! Where are you?” Anna flew out of the tent. Elsa was at her heels.  
“Oh no, I hope he isn’t hurt!” after they explained to the guys that R was MIA, they became frantic, looking everywhere.   
“R! R, I swear, if you’re dead, I’ll kill you!”  
“What are you all yelling about?” He called further from the trail. They all sprinted after his voice to find him on the other side of a very small, clear stream. He was on his knees, using his shirt to scrub his arms and back. He had a bright blue tattoo on his right shoulder down to his arm, and even more scars across his chest. When he saw them, he tried to hide them, but it was too late.   
“Wow. I thought it was just your face and arms.” Hans said, stepping over the stream, to stand beside him.   
“Where did these come from?” he asked, examining his back. R tensed.   
“Failures. They are from failures. That is all.” He said, barely above a whisper. It almost sounded like he was going to cry.   
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I hurt you?” Hans asked, backing up and putting his hands behind his back.  
“No. You do not hurt me. The memories do.” R said, dropping ungracefully to his knees. Kristof was over the brook in an instant. He didn’t touch R, but one look made him gasp.   
Gashes, deep gashes in all directions across his back. They looked old, but could still cause some pain.   
“They would discipline us if we got it wrong. I got more than anyone else.”   
“But you look like you would be a good fighter, you at least have the right body for it.” Anna said.  
“But my footing was always wrong.”   
“Why?”   
R grabbed his left boot by the heel and toe, and gave it a yank. As it came off, a handful of rags fell out. His foot, still concealed by a sock, looked narrower, slightly the wrong shape, and his entire calf was shorter than it should have been.   
“I was born like that. Missing two toes, and a short leg. It destroyed my balance, and made me fall all the time. I never could fix it, I just always kicked with my right, and stood on my left. I was not joking when I said I was very broken. Bad foot, bad leg, wrong head, and sorcery.”  
“It’s not sorcery unless you use it to cause harm.” Elsa said.  
“I have. I have destroyed four people. Three my opponents with my powers, and one, my mother, because she would have survived if I had no powers and burned in the shed.”  
“She did what? Our aunt tried to burn you? How old were you?”   
“Not old enough to be named. She was hurt that Father left her, so she attempted to rid herself of the one thing that would always remind her of him. I look like him, I’ve been told. Just an ugly version of him.” R said, as he pulled on his boot, all of this without pain. It was a fact. His mother was dead. His father didn’t want him. And he was ugly.  
“You aren’t ugly, you just don’t look like everyone else.”  
“What? I was told that it was the word for me. Your brothers, I had to do some things for them too, that was what they said to me. It was,”-he stood up straight, puffed out his chest, and yelled in a very good impression of the oldest brother-“Oye, Ugly! Get me a sandwich! Make it snappy!” He stomped across the small clearing and yelled, even louder,”Did you hear me, Ugly? Now!” They all doubled over laughing.  
The mood had changed, but now there was a new understanding. R was cold because everyone else was. He had come to a new land and really wished to fit in.


	14. Off we go, I guess

“So. do we have a way to get to Ottoholland, or are we just going to go and hope this works?” Olaf asked back on the road.  
“Which way is it?”   
“North. We drive straight north.” Elsa said.  
“I can calm the water for a short while, in that time, you need to freeze it over. Then you drive across, and you need to be fast, it won’t stay frozen for long.”   
“Us? What about you? You don’t honestly think we’re splitting up?” Anna asked, having had her fair share of being split off from some of the group.  
“No. we are not. I will join you on the other side.” R offered no more explanation.   
“Well, we don’t have any time to consider this plan, water, up ahead!” Kristof said.   
“As soon as it’s calm, freeze it.” R said, then jumped out and hit the ground running.  
“What? What are you doing?” Hans yelled over the sound of the waves.  
“Giving you time!” R shouted back, throwing himself into the waves. They all looked ahead in horror at where he disappeared. Then, moving north, from the shore, there was a completely flat strip of water. Elsa, deciding to follow the half-plan, lept into the front seat, and froze it. And so began the journey across. Every so often, they would catch a glimpse of someone under the water, always just ahead.   
“He’s a good swimmer, I’ve never seen anyone able to go that long without getting tired.” Kristof said, after they had been driving for what felt like hours.   
“Are we looking for a chunk of ice sticking up out of the water?” Hans asked.   
“Yes!” Elsa cried, beginning to get tired from freezing water in a constant stream.   
Once they reached it, R was already there. Well, sort of. He had gotten halfway on the iceberg, then passed out.   
“Oh no, is he dead?” Hans asked, trying to flip him over. He found a pulse on the side of his neck.  
“Oh good, he just fainted.” He sighed with relief.   
“I’m going in.” Elsa said.  
“I’m coming with you.”  
“No, Anna, I’m going alone.”  
“No, Elsa, I am going to come with you.”  
“How many times do I have to tell you, I need to do this alone. You don’t have to protect me.” Elsa said, turning away and starting off into and opening in the side.  
“Really? Then why is it that every time I let you go alone, you always get hurt? I only protect you because I feel like I have to!” Elsa stopped.   
“Fine. but I think only one can come in to learn.”  
“Then it should be her.” Hans said, standing up from R’s side.  
“Why?”  
“She’s a queen. You revoked your rights as queen. Technically speaking, it should just be her, and me, since my kingdom is the one who has been taken over.”   
“He’s got a point. But I don’t trust you.”   
“Elsa? Elsa!” Anna called. She had snuck into the ice while they were talking. Hand took off after her.


	15. Chapter 15

“Elsa? Elsa… Where are you?” Hans said, shivering at a fork in the path.   
“No!” He heard it come from one of them. He ran after it finding her in a large room, with pictures moving across the ceiling. One of them showed a man with dark skin, black hair, and a red coat, standing on the helm of a ship and looking through a spyglass.   
“R. He took your family. He’s behind it.”  
“No. no it can’t be. No, R would never…”   
“He didn’t tell you about his powers. Who knows what else he’s been hiding?” Hans, unable to believe what he was seeing, raced out. Elsa followed him.

“Hey, He’s awake, He can’t really talk yet, but he’ll live. Where are you going?”   
Hans had passed by her without even looking at him. He stood on the edge of the crushed rocks for a minute. Elsa walked over to R, who kind of looked at her, but didn’t really seem to see her and she kicked him, hard in the side. Again and again, she kept kicking him.  
“You. Disgusting. Little. Traitor. Making. Us. Trust. You. Till. You. Can. Take. Over. Our. Kingdoms.” she punctuated each word with a kick. He tried to get away, but he was still unable to really move enough.  
“Elsa, stop! What are you doing?”   
“He tricked us! He took us away from our kingdoms so he could take over! It was him!” Elsa started to explain what they had seen, but Hans stopped her.  
“No, it wasn’t.” He said. Elsa stopped. R groaned and coughed on the ground.   
“It wasn’t him. Look at him, then think of the man. They have the same skin, but not the same hair, or the same eyes.” They all looked at him in confusion.  
“That guy had dark eyes, and you only have to look at R for a minute to see his eyes are green, and that guy’s hair was all black. The front of R’s hair is red. It wasn’t him.” the last words were almost drowned out by R’s hacking coughs. He went to his side and half picked him up to get him off his back. Water shot out of his mouth, leaving him gasping for air.   
“You overworked. You should have stopped.” He said, almost scolding, but not quite.   
“I-cough-know. I-cough-felt it. But I -cough -could not stop.” He was gasping so much, it sounded like he surely couldn’t get enough air. He was trying to talk, but the words were impossible to understand. It was clear he had known he needed to stop but either didn’t care, or he had no idea of how, where to stop swimming.  
“Shut up. Just shut up. That’s an order.” Hans said sternly, propping R’s head up on his shoulder.  
“Fine. if it wasn’t him, who was it?”  
“It *gasp* was my father.” R finally managed to get out. “I was told he looked exactly like me, just with dark eyes and all black hair. He was known for being a pirate.” Then he was overcome with coughing again.  
“I thought I told you to shut up.”   
“Where would we find your father?” Kristof asked, kneeling beside R, who still only seemed to be half-awake.  
“Home. He is back home.”   
“Like, my home? We need to get back to the Isles?”  
“Yes. As soon as possible.”  
“Yeah, that’s really quite wonderful.” Olaf, who had been quite the whole time, said. “But we really should get home, and the only person who could get us off this place is…”  
“Out. I think he just passed out.”   
“Oh. I could… freeze it all?”  
“Are you sure? That’s a lot of water.”   
“I just need a headstart. Get in the sled, and be ready to drive."


	16. Chaos.

“I’M NEVER LISTENING TO YOUR PLANS EVER AGAIN!” Kristof yelled as they flew across the ice, most of the time the back was in the water.  
“I’M TRYING! TRUST ME!” Elsa cried, sending out ice in a constant stream.  
“STOP!” Hans screamed, launching into the water after R’s still-unconscious body, which had fallen when they made an especially sharp turn around a wave.   
“CIRCLES! GO IN CIRCLES!” Anna suggested. They started driving in circles as they waited for them to resurface. One minute. Two minutes. No one could be under there for much longer. Then, when they were about to give up, they saw a flash of white.   
“Oh, look, is that them?” Olaf said, pointing. They aimed for it, and Anna leaned over the edge to grab one of them. They were both obviously soaked, but one was frantic, the other was still unconscious.  
“ I GOT THEM! GO!”  
“Um. Is he dead now?”   
“No, he’s freezing though. He may have gotten too cold, and that’s why he can’t fully wake up.” Hans was shaking with cold and fear, but he took off his jacket, and tried to wrap it around him. He ended up just draping it over his chest, then adding a blanket, then flopping across him like he too, was a blanket.   
“Come on, come on, don’t be dead, please don’t be dead, I really don’t want you to be dead… Oh no, what’ll happen to Aldona if you’re dead, please don’t be dead…” He started lightly slapping at his face like that would somehow help.   
It kind of worked. R sat up and threw up over the side of the sled into the ocean. He looked awful. Along with the normal scars, he was a bit bruised, and his hair was a more normal red, and laying flat to his forehead. He also wasn’t moving, which was slightly unnerving. Before, he would almost always be fidgeting. they didn't notice until it had stopped.  
“You aren’t dead!” Hans cried, hugging him so hard he almost fell off the side again.   
“What? Am I dead? What is happening?” R asked, his hair looking a little more ignited than normal.   
“I-I thought you'd-died! Well, I th-thought you were g-going to d-die. I could t-tell you w-weren’t dead, but I d-didn’t know if you were g-going to…” Hans stuttered. R returned the hug, and there was literal steam coming off of them.   
“Do not worry, you get a hug too.” R said, engulfing Anna in a hug too.   
“BRACE YOURSELVES! LAND AHEAD!” Kristof yelled.


	17. Apples. thank you for coming to my presentation.

After a very rough return to land, they all took a minute to recollect themselves.   
“That was fun, except for the part where we almost lost one of us. That part was scary. I thought you said we weren't putting ourselves into mortal danger.” Olaf said, hopping out of the sled. R took three steps away from the sled, then collapsed again.  
“I am okay. I think.” Sven walked over and nudged him. He kept doing this until R was able to sort of stand up and then let him hold on to him to get back to the sled.   
“I think you need food. You haven’t eaten in a day, you’re probably starving.”  
“I can do that.” R took out a small packet from his coat pocket. He took out a small seed, shoved it underground, then placed his hand over it. In no time, a small apple tree was pushing its way out of the ground, faster than was natural.   
After only a few seconds, there was a fully grown apple tree covered with fruit underneath R.   
“Take some.” He said, picking one and taking a huge bite. They all took one, and soon the ground was littered with apple cores, which Sven happily devoured. R dropped them from his perch one after another, down for the other weary travelers.   
“How are you going to get down?”   
He held onto the tree with his hands, then swung forward, hanging upside down with his legs sticking straight out. Surprising strength for someone who could barely stand an hour ago.  
"I am strong."  
“I don’t get it.”  
“What?”  
“If you guys aren’t that bad, why did you try to take over our kingdom?”  
“That was your mistake. Not doing your research.” R said frowning, still hanging there.  
“What are you talking about? I did do research.”   
“Do you know why there are no accurate maps of the Isles? It’s because they grow and change all the time. We are conquerors. Inviting us to the coronation, you were asking for us to try something. Believe me, I would rather have just spent my time there having a good time and conversing with other kingdoms.”   
“But I still do not understand why we have now been conquered. I would think that they would have better defenses.”   
“We’re at war with the Northern Sands. We always have been, all our defenses went there.”   
“We kept none of them?”  
“What do you think you are? A handmaiden?”   
“Well, I know I keep killing the party, but if we want to get anywhere before it gets dark, we need to go. Are we leaving the tree?”  
“What else would we do with it?” R asked, moving his legs so he was just hanging from his arms, no fancy stuff. He swung back and forth a few times, then let go, flying forward, landing perfectly, only on his left leg.   
“Perfect form. Are you showing off? I’m sorry, but you know I can’t really compete.” Hans joked.  
“Really? I thought you would know how to…”  
“I just fall out of the tree. Always have. Let’s go.” He said, his joking manner evaporating.  
“I don’t think he likes being shown up.” Anna muttered to Elsa as they walked over to the sled.   
“No, he really doesn’t.”   
“Now that we know who did it, how are we going to defeat him?” Kristof asked.  
“If he is where he should be, he will be having a party, parading his victory. We get in, and destroy him there.” R said.  
“That’s perfect. Our ballroom is in a different building than the rest of the castle, it’s only connected by a stone entryway from the second floor. If he’s cocky, he won’t have a guest list, can just walk in.”   
“It would be best if the three of you get as many people out as possible. Hans, you should find your brothers, and get them to the main part of the castle, so they can calm the people as soon as it’s over. Then I can set it on fire, not putting innocent people in harm's way.”   
“Sounds logical enough. Let’s get moving.”


	18. Chapter 18

“Well. This is fun. Waiting for the signal. Woohoo.” Hans said, leaning against yet another tree R had climbed out of pure boredom. They were waiting until they heard the signal, a call that Elsa had once heard. It wasn’t well-known and the other option was that they scream.  
“Well, we do not want people to get hurt, do we?”  
“No. I guess not. Hey, I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while, and I haven’t because is sounds dumb. Everyone else showers me with compliments, but you never once have said anything like that.”  
“I am a servant. You have everybody else singing your praises, why should I? What difference would it make?”   
“I don’t know. Just… they all see me when I’m at my best. You don’t. You don’t really seem to see any difference.”  
“I do. I just do not think it really matters what you look like. Maybe it is just because I am ugly. I can not afford to be really critical of others' good looks when I don’t have them either.”  
“Remember how Mother tried to rename you? I think she and Father were the only ones who ever called you “Raulcus”. I always thought it sounded dumb.”  
“That’s because it’s not a real name, she just came up with something to call me that sounded remotely like my culture that started with R. that’s about as far I got with spelling.”  
They were silent.   
“Hey, R, what do you think you’re going to do after this is over?”  
“I am focusing on Aldona. She is going to a special school, I need to pay for it. What of you?”   
“I’ll get married. Probably have a kid. Maybe if I fall in love.”  
“Are you in love?” R said.  
“I don’t know. What does it feel like to be in love?”  
“Well, your heart beats faster. You feel so happy around them. Sometimes you feel very careful, other times you want to tell them everything. You get this feeling like there are insects in your stomach.”  
“What? That’s gross!”  
“You know what they say, those insects in your stomach? I thought you guys said that…”  
“Oh, Butterflies? Does it really feel like that though?”   
“Yes. Well, a little. And you can’t really speak right.”  
“You know a lot more about this than I thought you would. Wait, are you in love with someone? Do I know them?”   
“Yes. Very well.” R replied, moving on the branch.   
“Oh, now I’m intrigued. Who is it?” Hans stood up straight, looking straight up at him. R flipped down in the same position he had been in on the apple tree. They were eye to eye.  
“You.” As if on cue, a loud OH- OH-WA-OH split through the air. R maneuvered himself up to a standing position on the tree branch, then climbed into the second story window. Hans could see him doing a random gymnastics routine, then as he ran down the hall, he heard it.   
“You and me, have seen everything to see, from Bangkok to Calgary,   
and the souls of your shoes, are all worn down,   
the time for sleep is now, it’s nothing to cry about,   
cause we’ll hold each other soon, in the blackest of rooms.” The voice was familiar, but he couldn’t place where. Then came the lines he knew.  
“If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied,   
illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs.  
If there’s no one there beside you when your soul embarks,   
then I will follow you into the dark.” Then he was gone.


	19. Chapter 19

“R, we have a problem.” Kristof said, running to meet him. Anna passed him, leading fourteen people down the way he had come.  
“What is it?”  
“The building’s stone. You can’t burn down stone.”   
“Is everyone out?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I have got this. Keep everyone away from the building.”  
“You got it.”  
R followed the passage to to to ballroom. 

“The Charming Admiral Tor.” R called from the top of a beautiful staircase.  
“And who might you be, my young friend?” He said lightly, not threatened at all by R’s huge size. He was far handsomer than his first child, but something in his face was missing. Something R had far too much of. Humanity. He was cold and unfeeling, not a wrinkle in his face, like he had never smiled, laughed, frowned, or cried. His accent was only enough to notice, nothing more.  
“Your son.” R said plainly, stalking down the stairs.  
“Oh? From who? Which young lady is your mother?”  
“Princess Anna of Arendelle. She is dead.”  
“Really? Shame, I really liked her. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t just burn that ugly brat she had. Oh, where are my manners, that would be you, wouldn’t it? You haven’t gotten any better. How did she die?” He said sipping from a crystal wine glass like he met his grown offspring everyday and insulted them. Luckily, R was used to such insults.   
“She got sick. We both did. I got better, but she did not.”   
“How sad.” He replied, as though it wasn’t sad at all.  
As they had been talking, R had been sending vines and other things around, blocking all exits and now were creeping across the floor, forming a carpet.   
“Oh, I see you have learned magic. How fascinating. You must teach me.”  
“There is nothing to teach. The magic is in me.”  
“Dear me. Then I suppose I shall have to take it from you.” He joked. He let out a soft chuckle, the sort of thing that would make all the ladies swoon. R cringed, obviously taking note of all the ways his father was superior to him.   
“Why are you doing this? What is this for?” He asked.  
“What do you think? To have control. Everything is about control. Surely you know that. Although I cannot be sure, you seem quite stupid. No wonder you haven’t gotten married.”   
That, for some odd reason, was the last straw. R set fire to the thick plants that surrounded the whole building. The fire spread quickly, trapping them both inside. Unfortunately, Admiral Tor still didn’t seem worried at all. He merely took out his sword and cut a hole. R sent out a vine to knock the sword out of his hand. Once he had, he made it take the sword and bring it to him. Now there was no way out.   
“Well, Son, you really are quite a dim light. You’ve trapped yourself inside of your own inferno. If you try to escape, I will follow. If you don’t then you will die.”  
“I can survive it. And I am not your son.” He caused such a heat surge, the building started to fall apart. He launched himself through the flames, and out of the way.   
There was a scream from inside.  
Admiral Tor was gone. 

“R, R, I thought you were still inside, we could hear...:”  
“Seize him.” one of the brothers ordered. Immediately, his arms were held by guards.  
“What? What are you doing?” He demanded.  
“You, Sir are under arrest. Carry-over sentence. Your father would have served time, and since he is no longer here, it goes to his oldest child. Normally we only do this for people born in prison, but this is a special case.”   
“What? I have never heard of that law!” Hans said. He had clearly been chasing his brother, but hadn’t caught up in time.   
“There is another option, since you are a man over eighteen. You may serve in our military for one year. Your child will be taken care of by those that normally do. Or you may spend fifty years in prison. Your child will be sent to a Home. the choice is yours.”  
“I will take my chances in the war.” R said, not looking at anyone.


	20. Boredom and pining. Don't we love it

That year was the worst of Hans’ life. He had been used to having a kind face with him at all times, now he was alone, forced to see many ladies who wished to be his bride. All of them acted stupid. All of them were perfect. None of them had even close to the same sense of humor as him. And not one would climb a tree. He told them he was going to wait until he had his assistant back, so he could help him with his decision. His brothers were not very happy.   
To make up for his lack of companionship, he devoted himself to the war. He helped with plans, sent supplies, but never wanted anything to do with recruiting. It seemed to hurt him somehow.   
After six months, he received a letter, which he carried with him, and would read on occasions. The penmanship was horrendous, and the spelling and grammar was atrocious, but he could still tell what it said.  
“Helo form the War. I heared that you sended suplies. They are much apresheated. I mis you lots. Lov R”

“Your brother wishes for me to inform you, Sire.”   
“What is it?”   
“There was an explosion, Sire. one of the tents, it went up.”  
“Which one?” he asked internally panicked.   
“Tent nine. There were three men inside, two escaped, the last one was nowhere to be found. It is not believed he could have survived.”  
“Who was it? We’ll give them a proper ceremony.” Another one gone, what did it really matter? Why was he being informed? Was it a general?  
“Warrant Officer Raulcus.”


	21. YAY!

R did not just get a “Proper Ceremony.”   
His funeral was going to be the same as a captain's, even though he was at one of the lower stations. There were flowers, and they were using the whole throne room. It took them weeks to prepare.   
No one could fathom why the youngest of the princes was having such a huge funeral for someone who was just his servant.   
The ceremony was very nice though. Hans had found that R finished the sweater for Aldona, and it looked very pretty on her. She was planning to wear it for the ceremony, which she, of course, would attend. She even got to sit in the front of the room.   
“We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Raulcus… well, someone forgot to write the last name.” The minister said at the front.   
“There was no last name.”  
“Oh my. Beloved brother, valued cousin, faithful servant. His time was too early, as so many are. But he will not truly leave us, Until he is forgot-”   
The door at the back was opening. Everyone tried to ignore it, until whoever was coming in almost fell and let out a loud gasp. that turned a few heads. what really surprised them was when they spoke  
“Um, I mean no disrespect, but, who died?” They asked.   
In a second, Aldona was out of her seat with a scream, and was flying to the end of the hall into the strong arms of her brother.  
He looked more tired, his hair was slightly overgrown, and he had a new cut on his face,starting just under his eye and crossing his mouth down to his chin, but other than that, he was exactly the same.  
“You! You, you silly goose! You’re dead!” She laughed.  
“How are you not…?” the eldest asked.  
“My tent was destroyed by fire. Put together the bricks.” He replied, smiling and putting her down. He looked up to see Hans standing in front of him.   
“Uh, I am willing to serve you, if you will accept my offer.” R said, trying to sound professional. He offered his hand out in a handshake. Hans completely ignored it and wrapped his arms around him. R seemed slightly confused for a second, then returned the hug.   
“I got a cut from a piece of paper! Do you think it’s going to turn into a scar like yours?” Aldona asked, holding up her hand to show off a small cut in her finger.   
“It shouldn’t scar.” R said, letting go of him, taking her hand and kissing it.  
“You got blood on my hand! Ew!” Aldona said, examining her hand.   
“Yeah, honestly R, that’s unsanitary!” Hans said removing one of his gloves and using it to wipe some of the blood off of R’s face. R flinched, but didn’t try to move away. Once he was content with his work he put his arms around his neck and kissed him.  
All of R’s hair set on fire.  
“Are you in love?” R asked once he pulled away, in a perfect imitation of him.   
“Yes.” He replied resting his head against R’s broad chest.   
“Are they going to get married?” Aldona asked Anna.  
“I don’t know. Maybe.” She shrugged.  
“Yes.” Kristof said with finality.   
They all laughed.


	22. Aftermath

“Are you sure you know what you are doing?” R asked. Hans was seated on a table, and R was on a chair in front of him.  
“Absolutely positive. I think. Please hold still.”  
“Why are you doing this again?” Elsa asked. They were visiting for a week, and they seemed to have picked an odd week.   
“He’s meeting my family tomorrow night. We want to make sure he looks his very best, so I’m giving him a haircut.”   
“How do you normally cut your hair?”  
“I normally get it cut once and a while by the lady who styles our wigs at the theater.”  
“But she basically shaves your head, and we want you to actually have hair for this. Which you won’t if you don’t hold still.”  
“I am sorry.” R said, becoming stiller than a statue.   
“Thank you.”  
“What are you doing?” Kristof asked, looking at what he had done so far.  
“I’m doing shorter on the sides and longer on the top, so it blends nicely with the front.”  
“Did you pick this?” Anna asked R.  
“No. for some reason, I’m trusting his judgement.” R grinned.   
“Ah, young love. Must be nice.” Olaf sighed. He had recently decided that he was old and learned in the ways of the world.  
“And almost… done. What do you think?” Hans asked, holding up a mirror for R to look at.   
“Very nice. I like it. This could be my new look. Wait. let me see the scissors.” With a look of shame, Han handed over the scissors. Melted and deformed. R sighed.  
“Alright. And I’ll only cut my hair if I want to get new scissors.” Hans slightly pulled back his head and placed a kiss on his forehead, then hopped off the table to get rid of the black hair that was all over his clothes.   
“So, will we be invited to the wedding?” Elsa asked jokingly.   
“Mhm.” R rolled his eyes, reaching for a broom to clean the floor.


End file.
